Regulations allow utilities to "recruit individual energy consumers to help maintain grid reliability. One of the ways they do so is through Demand Response (DR) programs.

Demand Response participants reduce system demand during peak periods (when the risk of grid failure is high) by turning on their generation assets (backup generators) or through energy conservation. In return, DR participants receive two payment streams: one for simply making their capacity available, and another for their net reduction in demand, "negawatts."

EnerNOC makes DR programs accessible by handling all regulatory, permitting, operational, and metering requirements that would otherwise make participation impractical".

Stymbolic Translation: 'the grid is about to go down; NYC is going to "Brown Out" unless you either start the backup generators or shut down some equipment or both. Do it like we agreed, pronto, and you get paid both ways'.

For TreeHuggers with their own renewable sources: Those who have invested in private turbines or SPV panels might one day be able to go on a very spontaneous August vacation with the money made from a futures contract to dump all their power into the grid when it's most needed. Hey..we can dream right?

Great service idea. Cool website. Certainly gets people thinking about their options.